Damage caused by smoking bans
Man robbed in York while smoking cigarette
Nov. 23rd, 2009
By DailyRecord
A Dover man who stepped outside of a downtown York restaurant to smoke a cigarette was robbed at gunpoint Sunday night.
Jacob Thomas Hollerbush told police he went behind a restaurant to smoke in the 200 block of South George Street just after 9 p.m. when a man pointed a gun at him and took his money and cell phone, according to York City Police.
Hollerbush was not injured, police said.
The investigation is continuing.
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Smoker on subway wounded by police
By Barbara Boyer and Sam Wood, Inquirer Staff Writers
2/21/08
He was insisting on smoking while riding on a subway, but police tolerated that about as much as they tolerated having a gun pointed at them.
The incident, yesterday on the Broad Street Line in North Philadelphia, began about noon, when two plainclothes officers riding a northbound subway on a routine detail spotted a man smoking a cigarette between cars, said Jim Whitaker, a spokesman for the transit agency. At that location, the trains travel at 30 to 35 miles per hour.
The officers, who have been employed by SEPTA for two years, but whom authorities declined to identify, asked the man to put out his cigarette.
The man refused, and when the line arrived at the Allegheny station, he was escorted off the train, Whitaker said.
Smoking and riding between cars are prohibited.
But the man became confrontational, according to authorities, drew a handgun, and threatened the officers. The officers pulled their guns, and one them shot the man at least once in the right shoulder, Whitaker said.
The wounded man, whose identity was not released by police, was taken to Temple University Hospital, where he was treated for a non-life-threatening injury, Whitaker said. The officers were not injured.
Initial reports were that the suspect did not fire his handgun, which was recovered.
While Philadelphia and SEPTA police investigated the shooting through early afternoon, crowds of commuters gathered on Broad Street from Girard Avenue north to Erie Avenue as SEPTA buses arrived to shuttle those affected by the interrupted service.
Numerous SEPTA buses were seen along Broad Street, some with "emergency service" flashing on the sign above the driver.
Shortly after 3 p.m., all service was restored, with the evening rush unaffected.
Some riders who were waiting for shuttle buses during the interrupted train service expressed concern about safety, but said they would not stop using public transportation.
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Woman Falls From Window
January 30, 2008
Police in Luzerne County [Pennsylvania] want to know why a woman fell out of a two story window.
It happened on Baltimore Avenue in West Pittston around 10:30 p.m.
Police said a woman was leaning out of a second-story window smoking a cigarette when she fell to the ground. She was taken to a hospital. There is no word on her name or condition.
Officers said they want to know if she suffered some kind of medical condition that caused her to fall.
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Pittsburgh gas clerk kills robber demanding cash, cigarettes
Jul. 16, 2007
A gas station cashier shot and killed an armed robber who entered the store late Sunday and demanded money and cigarettes, police said.
Raymond Crawford, 30, entered the store just before midnight and pointed a large revolver at the store clerk, demanding the cash and cartons of cigarettes, police said.
The 58-year-old cashier complied. But when the robber demanded more cigarettes, the clerk reached for his own pistol and shot the suspect in the chest, police said.
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Two hurt in awning collapse
18 February 2007
(HAZLETON, PA) Two female workers at Hilton Reservations in the Humboldt Industrial Park were injured Saturday afternoon when an awning collapsed under heavy snow and ice.
One woman was taken to Hazleton General Hospital, then by helicopter to Lehigh Valley Hospital with serious but not life-threatening injuries.
Hazle Township Fire Chief Scott Kostician said the victim appeared to have suffered a shoulder injury when the corrugated metal awning fell and trapped her under ice and snow.
The other woman suffered only minor injuries because she was thrown clear by the force of the collapse, according to Kostician. She was transported to Hazleton General Hospital for treatment.
The incident happened around 4 p.m. as the women took a cigarette break under the awning behind the Hilton Reservations building at 8 Maplewood Drive.
The company had designated a smoking area there for employees, according to Hilton Director Monty Lewis.
The door to the area has now been blocked off, according to Lewis.
“Right now it is too early to say anything about (the incident),” he said. “The main thing we at Hilton are concerned with is the health and well-being of our employees at this time. Our company will release a statement when we learn more about how the accident happened.”
Kostician estimated that at least 3 to 4 feet of snow with a layer of ice caused the metal awning to collapse.
He believed that only the awning was damaged when it tore away from the building under the ice and snow and doesn’t believe the building suffered any structural damage.
Crews cleared away the twisted metal debris that remained after ambulances took away the victims.
Freeland and McAdoo fire companies were on standby, according to Kostician, and two other companies, Valley Regional and Sugarloaf, responded but returned to duty when it was determined enough help was on the scene.
Hilton Reservations has been at its present location in Humboldt since early December, Lewis said.
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